Hairless pigs on Tanna are culturally significant
and, according to custom law, can only be exchanged during two specific
occasions. The dwarf pigs appear to have no traditional value and are
recognized because of their anomaly.

A
preliminary investigation yielded isolated animals exhibiting the before
mentioned conditions. Morphological descriptions, tissue, hair, hair root ball,
and blood samples were collected from ten hairless, six dwarf, and six
"normal" pigs. The hairless pigs are said to be slower growers and
behaviorally have a calmer disposition than their wild island counterparts
(normal pigs). Some hairless pigs possess dry scaly skin which is believed to
be diet related. The degree of hairlessness was graded on a scale of one to ten(one
being totally void of hair ). This particular type of hairlessness appears to
be as a result of a recessive trait, but a further investigation is warranted.

Introduction

Vanuatu, (formerly the New Hebrides), is a Y-shaped
archipelago of eighty islands located in the southwest Pacific between latitude
12 deg. and 20 deg. and longitude 166 deg. and 171 deg.( See figure 1) It’s
distance from north to south covers 1000 km. All of the islands, to some
extent, have been affected by volcanic activity, which has fashioned Vanuatu’s
islands in the geological past, and helped to re-shape some in the recent
present. Vanuatu’s
vegetation is generally described as tropical rainforest. On many islands, the
forest extends from the high mountain interior to the coastlines and it’s it’s
density makes much of it’s interior virtually impenetrable. Tanna, one of Vanuatu’s
more remarkable and diverse islands, lies at the southern end of the island
chain. It is 40 km long by 27 km wide. It’s 565 sq km is a compact mix of
savannah, thick brush and rugged mountains. In the center is a fertile area
known as the Middle Bush by islanders. In 1774, Captain James Cook landed in a
small bay at the southern end of the island, drawn to this area by the nighttime
glow of Tanna’s active volcano, Mt.Yasur.
Tanna is rich in natural history and resources. Traditional life is still
evident with 85% of it’s population living in small villages and surviving on
subsistence gardening. Tanna boasts Cargo cult followers, age old festivals and
ceremonies, free roaming wild horses, spouting blowholes, hot
springs, and the world’s most accessible active volcano,
Yasur.

Origin of Pigs in the Pacific

Pigs have been woven into the fabric of Pacific
island lifestyles for thousands of years. Most historians agree that the
peoples of the Western pacific originated in Southeast Asia about 40,000 years
ago, and through a series of migrations across Indonesia and the New Guinea
chain, colonized many islands, including the Solomons and Vanuatu beginning
about 3000 BC.(Harcombe, 1991). Douglas (1990) claims
that in about 1400 BC, the protomelanesians( people of the Lapita culture)
traveled by canoe, and brought with them yams, taro and the predecessor of the
native pig. The Southwest Pacific pigs, Sus sp., are incorrectly referred to as
Sus papuensis by some scientists. These pigs are actually S. scrofa vittatus X
S. celebensis hybrids.( Groves,1981; Oliver,1993) Subsequent breedings with
domestic pigs, shape today’s Pacific island pig. McIntyre wrote in 1997, “The
indigenous pig, still thriving today, seems to have adapted extremely well to
the climatic and geographical conditions of Vanuatu.
These pigs can be found on almost every island in Vanuatu
in both it’s wild and domesticated states. The predominant characteristics of
these pigs are hardiness, compact size and long tapering snouts. Much smaller
than their Eurasian counterparts, Sus scrofa, the adult boar will generally
weigh no more than 100kgs.” The Vanuatu
Sus sp.has a leaner body build than
the commercial high production varieties which have proven uneconomical in this
humid tropical environment. According to Weightman(1989), Paddon probably
brought the first European breed of pig when, in 1845, he brought many kinds of
livestock from Australia
to The Vanuatuisland
of Aneityum.Captain Cook, along with subsequent
explorers, added to and hybridized the original pig populations with their
European breeds.Pigs were not only used for food, but more often as money and a
symbol of one’s wealth. The more pigs a man owned, the wealthier he was. Pigs
were bred, bought, sold, and traded. Pigs were even exchanged for brides at
weddings in payment of the bride price. Pigs were generally only eaten during
special ceremonies and rarely ever as a commonplace daily occurrence. In some
of the central and northern islands of Vanuatu,
any man can become chief, through a system of grade-taking or “Nimangki”.
Possessing large amounts of pigs was important. Castrated male pigs, with
circular tusks were more valuable. Hermaphrodite {more correctly termed Intersexual(
McIntyre, 1997 )} pigs were worth their weight in gold. On some of the more
southern islands, Tanna in particular, chiefdom is hereditary, but pigs are no
less important. On Tanna, the hairless pigs(Or Kapia, Kepwia, Kepwiah, Pukah
Kipwia, pig as they referred to by the Tannese men)( Huffman, 2000)are the most
valued form of Tannese pig(Bonnemaison, Huffman, 1996). Perhaps, because of
it’s rarity, does the Kapia pig get it’s value.

Lore and Legend

Kapia pigs, have been in the past and continue to be
today, a very rare occurrence on the island
of Tanna. The only other island
these pigs are said to have occurred is on Futuna( Tanna’s island neighbor to
the east) as a result of inter-island trading. Each island of the Vanuatu
archipelago is culturally diverse from the next. It is a fact, that as
important as these hairless pigs are to the chiefs of Tanna, they are all but
unheard of on the northern islands. In the same respect, When the author spoke
of the Intersexual pigs (McIntyre, 1997), revered culturally in the north, the
people of Tanna had never heard of such an animal. As told to me by Chief Tom
Numake( 2000), President, Tanna Council of Chiefs, “Kapia pigs are the pigs of
the chiefs only, but today are sometimes ritually killed during circumcision
ceremonies, weddings, and bride price offerings, which he remarks is culturally
incorrect. According to Custom law, there are only two instances when the Kapia
may be exchanged and eaten.( and this is only between chiefs)These are at certain
times of the year in exchange for a sea turtle and as a gratitude payback from
Toka dancers one month after the Nekowair ceremony.”Guiart mentions hairless
pigs as a status symbol in his (1956) publication. He goes mon to say,
“Everyone has the right to eat the flesh of this animal, but only certain
dignitaries maintain the privilege of organizing the cooking of hairless pigs,
or at least supervising this.” There are five classes of people on Tanna. The
highest class are the Rulers (Lords), or the Yeremuru(Iermanu).. The next two
classes are the high chiefs and the chiefs (Spokesman of the canoe)( Lindstrom
2000). These men are referred to as Yenni(Iani neteta). Each locale has at
least one of these titles-and some more. The next class of man is the Tapunis
man and the last is the common man. The Tapunis men are very important because
they are the “ providers” for all of the people’s needs. These men claim rights
to various types of magic. There are Tapunis men for fish, bananas, fruits,
vegetables, chickens, and a Tapunis Kapia pig man. With a sacred herb , worked
together, and rubbed on a special stone, the Tapunis Kapia man is said to be
able to create more Kapia pigs when their numbers get low. During certain times
of the year word comes down to the coast, via the custom network that the
people in the highlands want some sea turtles. There are special Tapunis turtle
men on the coast who have the power( with the use of special herbs and stones)
to attract sea turtles to the coast. The Tapunis turtle men must not sleep with
women or eat certain foods during the time (2 or 3 months) they are attracting
the turtles into a cove. When the turtles approach the shoreline, sharks are
requested, by the use of more herbs and special stones, to swim back and forth,
blocking the sea turtle’s exit back out into the sea. The specific numbers of
sea turtles are selected. At this point the sharks discontinue their blockade
and allow the remaining turtles to swim back out to sea. These sea turtles are
now exchanged with the highland people for kava, taro, and a Kapia pig. Upon
the swap, the Kapia pigs’ snout and forehead is stained (with the
reddish-orange pulp, around the nut of a local plant) in a pattern representing
that of the offering highland chief. The Kapia pigs are then cooked and shared
with the people of the coastal village. Chief Tom mentioned that Kapia pigs are
only eaten during the months of March through August.( These months correspond
with those months the sea turtles can be captured.) The only other time a Kapia
Pig can be exchanged is one month after a Nekowiar Festival. This festival
occurs about every two years or so on Tanna and brings remote villages together
(to renew clan alliances, with exchanges of gifts in the form of song, dance,
food, etc.)The villages celebrate enduring exchange relations between places
and lineages. This four day ceremony culminates in a massive, all male Toka
dance that can last all night. On the afternoon of the next day, a large number
of pigs are killed by the host villages and presented to the guest dancers. One
month later, the Toka dancers repay this generous gift with an equal number of
pigs of their own- plus 10 or 20 more. One of these pigs will be a Kapia pig
with its face stained red in a pattern symbolic of the chief making the
offering.”Such a pig is a beautiful sight to see, with its face painted red,
like a “chief” as it is led across the dancing ground in presentation rituals
from bigman (Chief) to bigman.”( Bonnemaison, J., Huffman, K., et al.)

Investigations/ Materials and Methods

During July of 2000, The Southwest Pacific Research
Foundation traveled to Vanuatu
in the South Pacific, to investigate the incidence of glabrousness(hairless
condition) on some ofthesouthern islands of the Vanuatu
island chain..Along with a student research assistant, a two-fold field study
was undertaken to investigate these mammalian anomalies from a scientific
standpoint and at the same time document their cultural significance to the
people of Tanna. I enlisted the assistance of Chief, Tom Numake to help us
identify and locate the rarely occurring Kapia pigs. Chief Tom, besides being
current President of the Tanna Council of Chiefs, and one of the authors of the
original written version of Tanna’s Custom Law, ardently fights to preserve the
customs and traditions of his father and grandfather. He isrespected and influential on the island
of Tanna and has, or can get, access
to the peoples of even the remotest bush villages. Chief Numake, being the
author’s only contact on Tanna, was probably the best contact anyone would need
to explore remote areas of Tanna island.. By the time the author’s field team
touched down at the airport on Tanna, Chief Tom had located ten villages, which
were thought to contain Kapia pigs. These villages were located in all corners
of Tanna, as well as the central Middle Bush. Many village visits required a
one and a half hour truck ride on “roads” that were more representative of a
bad path, immediately followed by a one hour bush walk and climb, to examine
perhaps one pig. In all, ten Kapia pigs were located, investigated, and
documented. Each pig was photographed and videotaped. Approximate age and
weights, as well as descriptions were noted.( See table 1) Each pig was
manually restrained while blood, tissue, and hair samples were collected from
the top side ear. The tissue and hair samples were collected in a 70% ethyl
alcohol solution. Blood samples were collected on Fitzco/Whatman FTA Classic
Cards and allowed to air dry. Each animal was ear tagged in the hole left by
the tissue sample. Each pig owner was in turn offered a gift of five kilos of
rice and two cans of tin fish for allowing us the examine their prized
possessions. Results; Descriptions of the Kapia and Pissis Pigs KAPIA PIGS Tanna’s
hairless pig, at first sighting, is indeed a strange sight. Ten of the ten pigs
we investigated were predominately black in color, which resulted from the
black pigment in their skin, as there was no hair to influence the color or
pattern. Their skin was very dry and scaley in appearance. It was also noted
that many of the villagers had the same condition with their skin which perhaps
points to a diet related condition, since pig and human diet is roughly the
same (Lindstrom, 2000). Heavy Kava drinking (a traditional drink made from the
roots of the Piper methistycum plant) has also been known to dry out the
skin.There was relatively no hair to speak of on the entire torso of these
animals. Each pigs was graded on a scale of 1 to 10.( 1 being completely
hairless and 10 being normally haired) Nine of the Ten pigs fell between 1 and
3, with one pig graded a 4 as a result of additional hair around the jowls and
ears. What little hair that was evident, was usually sparsely distributed down
the center of the back. There was no set skull or body shape characteristic of
the Kapia pig. Pigs with long, narrow snouts and taller, leaner torsos were
observed as well as the more “ European” skull and body types( ie: shorter
snout length and stockier body type) One hairless pig was observed to be
“dwarfish” in appearance(see following section on Pissis pigs) as compared to
the others.

I did not observe any extra care and maintenance
given to these pigs, which was much different from the intensive care given to
the raising of the Intersexual pigs on the Northern islands.(McIntyre,1997)
More often than not, the Kapia pigs ran free in the bush with all of the other
villageand wild pigs. When we asked to
study these pigs, they had to be hunted down and captured using the adept
skills of the village pig hunting “catch” dogs. There are also people that are
referred to as “Kapia men.” Living on Tanna today are adult men with hair on
their heads, but the remainder of their body is virtually devoid of hair. This
includes facial, arms, legs, chests, and genital area.(Numake,2000) PISPIS PIGS
PisPis pigs(The local name given to this particular type of pig) were also
observed and documented during this study. Describing this pig is a little less
definitive than that of the Kapia pig. PisPis pigs, even when mature, are
somewhat “dwarfish” in appearance. Characteristics that we found in common with
the 6 specimens observed were and abbreviated shortened snout and the
appearance of shorter than normal legs. A stocky body shape was also
characteristic of the PisPis pig. Although no obvious cultural or traditional
importance is placed on these pigs, they are, nonetheless, still maintained and
identified as such.

Pig Breeding and Genetics

The average farrow size of Tanna’s pigs seems to fall
between four to six piglets per litter. If there is a Kapia pig represented in
the breeding pair,(ie: eithersow
orboar) the chances of the pair
producing another Kapia pig( one Kapia piglet every three or four farrows or
approximately 6%of the offspring) ) are better than if neither parent is
phenotypically Kapia.. Kapia pigs have occasionally produced by “non-Kapia”
looking parents. The Kapia condition is more than likely a recessive trait. We
learned that the percentages of Kapia offspring are even greater if both in the
breeding pair are Kapia type pigs. The Kapia pigs of Tanna, in comparison to
“normal” pigs, are said to be slower in their growth, although they do
eventually grow toan average adult
weight of “normal pigs, 80 to 90 kgs.))The Kapia pigs are said to be somewhat
“slack” in their behavior, referring to their less aggressive behaviors and
their willingness to stay in and around the villages while their normal
counterparts readily take to the bush.

Closing/Recommendations

It is with hopes, that this preliminary investigation
shed some light on this condition of hairlessness on a small group of the pig
population on the island of Tanna,
and nowhere else in the world. Perhaps the genes or enzyme deficiencies
responsible for this condition can be isolated and this information applied to
other studies in this area. Expanding this study to include genomic analysis
and dietary studies is mandatory if the secrets of this hairless condition are
to be identified. Comparing these results with those generated from other
populations of hairless pigs will aid in a better understanding of porcine
glabrousness. Of equal importance is the anthropological information being
documented and thus preserved for a people whose custom ways are rapidly
disintegrating. It is with hopes by studying these unique animals, and
recording these findings, that future generations might know the importance the
Kapia pig played in the lives of their forefathers.

Acknowledgments

First, and most importantly, I would like to thank
Chief Tom Numake for his invaluable contributions to the ultimate success of
this project. Besides arranging the excellent accommodations and meals for our
study team, Chief Numake worked diligently, prior to our arrival, locating Kapia
and PisPis pigs for investigation. Many thanks to the competent and friendly
staff at Tanna Evergreen Bungalows for making our stay on Tanna comfortable and
worry free. Thank you Miriam, Peter, Sam, and Samuel. To our Guide, Louie,
Thanks for your competent assistance. To our drivers, Sam, and George, thanks
for getting us to places no vehicles were ever meant to go. And to those pig
owners who shared prized possessions and stories with us, Thank you Chief
Samsom Kaso, Chief Jack Naiva, Charlie Noklam, Semil, Yabilai Johnson, Capera,
Kubulu Moses, Mrs. Kakau, Munbasena, Yoda Root, Reuben Kamedi, Peter Sia, Noka,
and George. Gratitude to EIEICO, Inc. of Pennsylvania,
USA, and
Templar Sciences for generously funding this study. Special thanks to
Anthropologists, Kirk Huffman and Dr, Lamont Lindstrom, for their expertise,
and critique of this paper. And To my son, Tucker Samuel McIntyre, for being a
more than competent assistant and a great travel partner.